West Virginia Women’s Soccer Qualifies for the NCAA Tournament
The West Virginia women’s soccer team is headed back to the NCAA Tournament. After falling in the first round of the Big 12 tournament to eventual champion Kansas, things looked bleak for the Mountaineers postseason hopes.
However, the NCAA Selection Committee saw merit in the team’s body of work and now Nikki Izzo Brown will lead her squad into the national tournament for the 20th consecutive season. West Virginia enters postseason play with a record of 10-7-2 overall and 5-3-1 in the Big 12.
The Mountaineers finished fourth in the league and placed four players on all-conference teams. Senior Rylee Foster and sophomore Jordan Brewster landed highest on the All-Big 12 Second Team while Enzi Broussard and Nicole Payne we’re named All-Big 12 Freshman.
West Virginia enters as an unseeded team as the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament format only allows for the top 16 teams to be seeded. The Mountaineers will travel to the campus of Rutgers University to contest a first-round matchup against the Georgetown Hoyas.
West Virginia and Georgetown played once this season in nonconference in Washington, DC. The Hoyas came out on top by a score of 3-0 as the Mountaineers only mustered three shots on goal and were shut out by goalkeeper Anna Leat.
The NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament First Round takes place on November 15-17. Should West Virginia win, it will take on the winner of Central Connecticut State and fourth-seeded Rutgers.